Nutritional considerations for horses with colitis. Part 2: Parenteral nutrition, new nutritional considerations and specific dietary recommendations

Horses with colitis often do not have adequate voluntary intake of feeds to support recovery. In addition, they may not tolerate forced enteral feeding, due to ileus, abdominal distention, or colic. Parenteral nutrition is the appropriate form of nutritional support in these cases. This review provides guidelines for selection of cases for parenteral nutrition (PN), as well as steps to institute it. Guidelines for dextrose and insulin therapy are also provided. New nutritional considerations, as well as probiotics, for critically ill horses are discussed. Recommendations are provided for specific forms of colonic disorders.